WHAT IF: Never Surrender
by kiboeme
Summary: "It is time for you to choose: surrender, or die? Oh yes, a question for all the land and people of Hyrule. Life? Or death!" When the Princess of Hyrule is faced with a choice that will irrevocably change her kingdom and her life, she chooses a path far departed from what we may know. As her kingdom crumbles around her, Princess Zelda makes a vow that she will never surrender.
1. I

-:- Throne Room of Hyrule Castle, Lanayru Providence -:-

He had burst into the room unannounced, calmly stalking into the very heart of the kingdom surrounded by billowing clouds of shadow and swarms of monstrous black creatures. We had been prepared for him, of course. The Sages had warned me long ago that this day could come, and the Shadow King's forces were less than subtle, even if confined to the shadows as they advanced. What we had not been prepared for was his destructive force. Beings of the Twilight should have been weakened in the light of our world, but even with the sunlight burning through the western windows he was far too strong.

"It is time for you to choose," he said coldly, a chilling calm in his voice. "Surrender, or die." My blood ran cold at his words. Suddenly, the sovereignty of my position that I had treasured so much felt very, very overwhelming.

"Oh yes, a question for all the land and people of Hyrule," he continued, twisted amusement lacing his tone. "Life? Or death?!"

The soldiers at my sides, two of the few that had been spared in the onslaught, turned to me. They were afraid. I was afraid. I had no blotting paper, no second chances or rewind if I made the wrong decision now. My beloved kingdom and the precious lives within it were at stake. My choice would be irrevocable. It could be devastating. I could not choose wrong.

One of my predecessors had surrendered herself. A princess of the past had awaited he arrival of the Hero, making no effort to stem the tide of evil that had begun to seep into her kingdom. Her inaction had nearly brought Hyrule to its knees less than a century ago. I had wrote when I rose to the throne that I would never make her same mistake, I would never wait to act and risk my kingdom's safety for my own. I keep my promises.

"Zant, King of the Realm of Shadows," I said, speaking clearly enough to be heard through his garish helmet and surprised at the strength of my own words, "long live the goddesses."

I knew hat I would have to move quickly, now that I had said it. I swept both hands through the air before me and silently apologized for condemning my soldiers to death as the uncomfortable sensation of vanishing enveloped me.

-:- Lake Hylia, Lanayru Providence -:-

The peace of the lake was suddenly interrupted by two events. The first was when the harried-looking matriarch of Hyrule appeared on the dock of Faber's canon-launch out of nowhere and promptly crumpled to the wooden boards. The second event could not be seen, but it was heard all too clearly as the sound of a massive explosion and crashing stone soared across the Hyrule Fields to echo wildly off the walls surrounding the lake. Even a Zora hundreds of feet below the surface, standing watch over the entrance to a temple, heard the tenors in the water and rose curiously to the surface. His head broke into the open air just as Princess Zelda began to stir again, and by the time she had lifted herself into a sitting position the Zora had drifted close.

"Hylian Princess," he said in slightly garbled and thickly accented Hylian, "what has brought you to our lake of songs?"

"It is necessary for me to speak to the Light Spirit Lanayru," the Princess replied breathlessly in the Zora tongue. The Zora blinked once to acknowledge Her Highness before sinking back into the depths of the lake. If the Hylian ruler had no business with the Zora people, he had no business with her.

After another brief moment of recovery, Zelda rose unsteadily to her feet and made for the cave of Lanayru. She stumbled and fell once on the boardwalk, scuffing her hands and acquiring several splinters in each of them. She futilely tried to pick them out as she entered the decorated cavern in which Lanayru dwelled.

Zelda came to stand at the very edge of the spring. She paused for a moment to hear the quiet singing of the spirit before she called upon him.

"Lanayru, Light of the Goddess Nayru, I use the authority of my position as leader of Hyrule, bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, and descendant of the line of the goddess to call upon you," she said clearly, her voice dancing back to her as it bounced off the walls and the enchanted water of the spring.

There was no response to her words at first, but soon the faint clumps of light that drifted throughout the cavern began to bind together to form the magnificent giant serpent that was Lanayru.

"Princess Zelda, of Hyrule," Lanayru said slowly, his voice rich and singing with the wisdom of millennia, "why is it that you call to me, and why here in my cavern rather than from the safety of your chamber?" He paused a moment, and the Princess was silent as well. "I see..."

"Lanayru, has the Hero risen yet?" The Princess broke out, seeming to be unable to contain herself any longer.

"He has arrived to defeat the evil that threatens this land, but not all is going according to how it was planned. The Spirit within him has not yet awoken. It is weak, spread thin between the Hero that is rising now and the remnants of the Hero of the past."

"Will he awaken soon, now that the darkness has reached us?"

"Not yet on his own, for it is not yet his time." The spring was silent for a moment as both the Spirit and the Princess reflected carefully on their situation.

"However, I can propose a solution"

-:- Ordon Village, Ordona Providence -:-

Ilia led the stranger through the village, mostly ignoring the curious stares of her village-mates. The stranger didn't seem to be bothered at all. Then again, he must have gotten odd looks all the time dressed the way he was. Ilia had never seen anyone dressed like this man, even though her father had shown her many a drawing of the various races and species of Hyrule. He was short and with, but anyone could see his lean muscles through the skintight blue unitard he wore. From his chest to his waist was a red, gold, and blue design on a white background, all of it painted directly onto his unitard. His navy boots didn't seem to have any soles, and his belt held all sorts of knife holsters, amulets, and suspicious pouches. The weirdest bit of all, though, was his bandages. Not only were the strangers knuckles and hands bandaged, but loose cloths were wrapped all around his neck, head, and even over his mouth and nose. A tight braid down his back and a shock of coarse straw-colored hair shadowing cobalt blue eyes were all that could be seen of the stranger's actual body. He wouldn't say where he was from, what his name was, how he got to Ordon, or why he needed to speak with the town's best swordsman.

Uli opened the door of her home at Ilia's gentle knock. She seemed very confused by the parade on her porch—not only was Ilia standing there, but also a weirdly-clothed stranger and all of the village children.

"May we come in, Uli?" Ilia asked politely. Uli nodded and stepped back into the house. Ilia ushered the stranger inside, then turned around to shoo the children away. They all sighed and whined, but left anyway. Ilia closed the door behind her and sat down on the couch.

"Uli, is Rusl home?" she asked with a sideways glance at the stranger sitting stiffly on a wooden stool. Uli followed her look and frowned for a moment before shaking her head.

"He left to chop firewood with Link in the woods this morning," Uli explained. "They should return when they always do, at twilight." Ilia nodded, satisfied with the answer, but the stranger twitched oddly at the final words. Uli looked away almost as soon as her eyes went to the arranged, turning to busy herself with steeping tea, but Ilia felt no shame to stare at him. A tense silence filled the house, but was shortly interrupted by the happy shouts of children and the sound of clopping hooves. All three of the people inside the house perked up, and then the front door burst open.

Rusl, a tall man for the village of Ordon, spun though the door, swinging Colin through the air. A young man with shaggy brown hair followed them, chuckling quietly at the display. The joy came to a screeching stop when they saw the stranger sitting there.

"Uli," Rusl said. He set Colin down, and the boy went straight to the young man. "Who is this?" The stranger abruptly stood up.

"You are Rusl?" the stranger asked in a strangely gender-less voice.

"I am."

"And you are the finest swordsman in Ordon Village?" Rusl chuckled at this question.

"I suppose you could say that," he said, "but young Link here will soon be better than I've ever been." The brown-haired teen ducked his head bashfully, but everyone else smiled slightly. They knew that Rusl was right. The stranger hesitated to respond, and Rusl filled the silence. "So, what's the problem? Why are you looking for me?"

"I do not know that it is you I seek, Rusl," the stranger replied carefully, like he was picking each word out carefully. "I have come to locate a skilled swordsman, one who is courageous and has been blessed with many skills. I was told that I would find the one I seek here in Ordona Providence. However, I know little else of him."

"How're you supposed to find him, then? I mean, nobody in Ordon has ever been particularly fearless or skilled."

"Link has," little Colin piped up. "Remember all the times he's saved Malo and Talo from drowning in the stream?" Ilia smiled. She remembered that. Everyone else, however, brushed aside the child's comment, especially Link himself. Humble to the end, Ilia thought.

"It is said that he will have a special mark on the back of his left hand," the stranger added quietly. Rusl shook back his sleeve and held up his left hand for the stranger to see, palm facing in and back facing the stranger's eyes. It was blank.

"I don't think I'm the one you're looking for, then," he said. The stranger seemed to be about to speak, but then Colin interjected again.

"Link's got something on his hand!" he cried. Link shushed him quickly.

"It's just a birthmark," he told the stranger apologetically. The stranger seemed undeterred by Link's excuses.

"May I?" he asked, holding out his hand for Link's. Link stepped forward and put his left hand inside the stranger's so that the marking on the back could be clearly seen. The stranger sucked in a breath. "Come with me," he said quickly, and before anyone could say or do anything else he waved his hand in the air, and both he and Link vanished in a flash of white light.

-:- Ordon Spring, Ordona Providence -:-

The moment I had known this boy, Link, was the Hero, I snatched his hand and used my magic to transport both of us out of the cramped home and into the isolated spring, far from prying eyes and meddlesome ears. I felt slightly queasy after arriving, as I always have felt after great magic use, but I remained steadily on my feet. The Ilia girl had initially found me collapsed in the spring water, exhausted and ill after my long journey from Lake Hylia. Link, on the other hand, was far less fortunate than I. He stumbled away from me and fell directly onto his back on the sandy shore of the spring.

"Are you well?" I asked quietly, not particularly bothering to disguise my voice as masculine while I took a seat beside him. Link silently nodded and opened his eyes shortly after. He did not speak much, but he was quite handsome, refreshingly unaffected and simple in his rugged appearance. Few of the young men I had ever come into contact with were remotely attractive, and those that were had always been far too pompous or done up to hold any appeal.

"Do you know why I took you?" Link shook his head then as he pushed himself into a sitting position. "You do not speak much, do you?" I added suddenly. Link started to shake his head silently once more before catching himself.

"No, I do not," he replied aloud. I looked at him carefully, now remaining silent myself. His voice seemed oddly familiar, as if I had heard it once long ago and forgotten its cantor.

"Have you ever traveled to the Castle Town in Hyrule?" I continued, wondering if he could have come to represent his village in court at some point and I had somehow managed to forget him.

"No. I've never been outside of Faron Woods, actually." A placid silence fell over the pair of us, peaceful if filled with questions. Link, ironically, was the first to break our silence.

"Why did you bring me here?" he asked. "And who are you, anyway?" he then added, almost as if my identity were a mere afterthought. I took a steadying breath, preparing to put my disguise to the test of competence.

"I am Sheik, emissary and ambassador to Her Royal Highness the Princess Zelda of Hyrule. She requires your services." Link examined me carefully, scanning my sitting body from head shawl to booted for. For a moment, I feared that he had seen through my charade.

"What sort of services?" he asked instead. I refrained from releasing a heavy breath of relief, instead opting to answer him.

"The Princess requires a Hero."


	2. II

-:- Hyrule Castle, Lanayru Providence -:-

King Zant stood, stock-still and silent, in the precise center of the throne room. Or, at least, what had once been the Princess' throne room. He looked around at the rubble surrounding him with a cool disinterest. There were no body parts lying around, neither Twili beast nor Hylian guard, as a result of the obliteration of all by the floor of the throne room. Not that Zant would have particularly minded stray body pieces. He had done quite well. Not a terrible surprise, really—he was immensely powerful after all.

However, his flawless plan had encountered a rather irksome obstacle: the Princess Zelda. His god had told him that, with a powerful enough display of his extensive and fearsome prowess, the Princess would crumple and willingly forfeit her kingdom to him. Ganondorf had, apparently, been drastically wrong. Unlike Zant, Ganondorf was flawed and had failed once before despite his massive power. He was hateful and could be enraged, emotions that hindered him and had caused him to be left behind in the Twilight to fuel Zant's attack. Both of them were powerful. But Zant's emotionlessness had made him far superior.

The Princess seemed to be above them both, though, and for this the Twilight King would not stand. He was the chosen acolyte of the Demon God, he was the most powerful magic wielder in both realms, he was the **_KING_**! An empty hatred echoed in Zant's hollow chest. How dare she not submit to him, how dare she run away, how dare she defy him?! Defiance is intolerable. Rebellion must be quashed. The former Princess must be stamped out and silenced before any damage was inflicted upon Zant's glorious regime. _His_ regime, not hers.

In the meantime, he was king! King of two realms, monarch of the Shadow and the Light. He held power unmatched and plans ultimately undeterred.

He paced over to the side of the room slowly, reflecting on its pompous grandeur as the highest room in the kingdom and with its glorious view of the lands below. He stepped to the edge, looking outward and down to the curious crowd of Hylians assembled in the square. The people of Hyrule. HIS people.

Not needing to act possessed of emotion beneath his horror mask, Zant unleashed his Twilight without expression.

-:- Ordon Spring, Ordona Providence -:-

Twilight–the natural, peaceful, calm type–fell over Ordon as I awaited Link's response. The dusk settled in and wrapped its lavender self around each tree and drop of water, muting all the sounds of the distant forest. I practically quivered with anticipation, as did the air and the water of the otherwise placid spring. The Princes–I–needed the Hero.

"So I need to find one?" Link finally said.

"No!" I found myself crying out, frustrated by his oblivious disbelief. "You are the Hero that she seems. The Hero Hyrule wants for so desperately." Seeing the doubt shimmering behind his unnervingly familiar eyes, I resorted to physicality.

"See," I began, snatching his left hand and tugging the glove from my own with a prayer that he wouldn't recognize it's femininity, "there is a legend which few have heard and fewer know to hold truth. Before time began, a great Demon God rose to destroy the land created by the goddesses. The Creator Goddesses chose one youn man and one royal woman to be bestowed with a massively powerful artifact known only as the Triforce. Upon his defeat at the hands of the two chosen ones, the Demon God sword to the young man–the Hero–that his hated would burn forever.

"He was not merely bluffing, and as a result of his loathing a cycle was born. Each time the Demon God's hateful spirit manifested itself in Hyrule, a Hero and a Princess are born as reincarnations of the very first two, tasked with the divine duty to combat the Demon God and save Hyrule from demise. Those chosen were prophesied to be born with the mark of the Triforce on the back of their left hands to represent the magic they wield. You and I both have this mark, this symbol of the three triangles. It is our destiny to fight the evil overtaking our land. Do you understand me? Does none of this seem even remotely familiar, do you feel even the smallest flare of the Hero's Spirit within you?" I asked, pleading with more than truly questioning him. To my dismay, he showed no sign of recognition. Then, his eyes lit up and his face lifted as if with a revelation. My hope leaped high, then plummeted when Link dropped to a knee and bowed his mousey head.

"Your Highness," he said with respect. I sighed unhappy that my disguise as Sheik had failed.

"Link," I interrupted, grabbing his shoulders in an attempt to lift him, "you need not how to me, for I am no longer the reigning monarch of Hyrule. Another King from a foreign land ambushed my army and myself in my throne room, and instead of surrendering to him I ran away. I can only presume that he has appointed himself as Hyrule's King and will soon unleash his reign of terror." Link glanced up at me through his thick eyelashes. "This is the man we must defeat before all hope for our land is lost."

He sighed gently and lifted his head to meet my eyes. "I will help you, Princess, but not because I feel responsible to a shape on my hand. If my fellow Ordonians are in danger, I can't just ignore it. What do you need me to do, Princess?"

"Please, call me Sheik for as long as I wear my disguise. It may provide us both with a small measure of protection," I explained. "As for how we shall proceed, we first require a horse. I have too little energy remaining to magically transport us." Link nodded once. "You have a horse? Please, go any fetch it." Link nodded again and left the spring at a brisk job. When he returned not too long a time after his departure, he had brought not the horse and a human guest: Rusl.

"Sheik," Rusl said, handing the horse's reins to Link so that he could approach me. Fortunately, I had already slipped my glove back on in Link's absence and was able to shake Rusl's hand without concern.

"Rusl," I greeted him cordially, surprise in my voice betraying my calm demeanor.

"Link told me you needed him and Epona to help you save Hyrule," he said gravely. I resisted glaring at Link. "He did not tell me what from or how you plan to do it, but he told me enough for me to know I can help just a little.

"I'm an on-and-off member of a resistance based in Castle Town dedicated to making up for the Princess' useless and cowardly army. They are lead by a woman named Telma, and we meet at her bar whenever we can. However much they fear for Hyrule's stability, they are all Lou l to the land and will help you without hesitation." All was quiet as I reflected on Rusl's proposition. While I was displeased to learn that the majority of my arm was cowardly and disreputable, the information and skills of this group could be most helpful.

"Thank you for your recommendation, Rusl. We may call on them." Rusl nodded his approval and, after a final glance at me and a sweeping gaze of the spring, made his leave. I turned to Link.

"Are you ready to depart?" He silently nodded and mounted his horse. I obediently settled myself into a matching position behind him, and Link spurred his horse toward the spring's gates shortly thereafter.

I had not waited for the Hero. Now I could only pray that my drive to action would save the kingdom.

-:- Kakariko Village, Eldin Providence -:-

Death Mountain ruled many things. It towered over canyon, cliff, and field, dominating the sky where it stood and filling the nearby clouds with dark volcanic ash. It controlled the Goron people, dictating their behavior and providing all of their prosperity or despair; it lorded itself over the humble village of Kakariko, a peaceful desert settlement built into the cliffs of a shallow canyon at the base of the mountain's vast slopes; on the opposite side it reigned supreme over a smaller, nearly abandoned village that had been mostly most to time and to the mountain's burying it in fire and lava and ash. Most of the time, Death Mountain was placid, more awesome and grandiose than threatening, but every once and a while its spirit became enraged and it was all anyone could do to avoid certain death.

As the morning sun broke over the horizon in the distance on this day, though, the power and the danger of the mountain suddenly diminished in importance. For, as the sun rose in the same place as it always had, the tower of Hyrule Castle that it normally silhouetted each morning was gone, and the sunlight itself seemed to wave fierce war on a curtain of purple and amber shadow that blanketed the castle and the field.

The Kakariko shaman watched the rising of the sun reveal these horrible wonders as a woman with a horse and a wagonload of people raced ahead of the dark cloud toward the refuge of the village.

That afternoon, after all had been comfortably situated in the hotel and among the homes, welcomed by and nestled among the villagers. The newcomers stood out, with their paler skin and layered clothing and the occasional pointed ear that indicated a noble child, but the woman who had bright them all looked and walked and dressed as if she were a native to the village. In fact, her smooth brown hair, smoky eyes, and auburn hair looked far more native to the desert sand and stone than most of the village natives. She went by the name of Telma.

By the fall of dusk upon Kakariko, more people began arriving to the town. They arrived individually—a weathered man in coarse, worn clothes; a bespectacled scholar who looked decidedly uncomfortable in the dimming light; and an armor-clad young girl with a face as pale as the nighttime moon—and asked for Telma. Only the scholarly boy took a room at the hotel, the others presumably sleeping outdoors or not at all, but all convened in the shaman's prayer hut directly after their arrival.

As sundown settled firmly into the calm of night, a final pair of travelers arrived from the south on horseback, one a teenager dressed in simple but sloppy and well-worn clothes, the other a mostly-grown man wearing only a unitard. When they entered the hotel, the maid leaning lazily half-asleep on the counter in the front of the building asked the pair in a sleepy voice if they were there to see Telma as well. The two men glanced at each other with meaningful eyes, as if the name was unfamiliar but still held some great significance to them both, before they said a synchronized yes. After learning the location of the meeting, they exited the hotel's simple lobby to make for the yurt.

-:- Shaman's Hut, Kakariko Village, Eldin Providence -:-

Telma had just begun her meeting when Link and I entered the shaman's hut. I was careful to take a quite detailed inventory of the contents and occupants of the one round room. It was perfectly circular, with two doors on opposite sides of it, a series of raised platforms built into the walls, and and a wooden pole in the center. All of the room's many torches were lit, illuminating the group of three vastly different people lounging in various locations and listening to a wide woman speaking in the center.

"Okay, now that dear Shad has come to us we can get started. I'm guessing you all heard that crazy explosion?" she asked with gravity. A murmurous chorus of assent rippled through those present, at least until a dark haired girl in some sort of winter armor lifted a hand to point out Link's and my presence. The woman in the center, whom I assumed to be Telma, turned on us.

"Oh, what're you two doing here?" she asked in an exasperated, but strangely unaccusatory, tone. "I told that lady to only let folks in here if they asked for me at the hotel."

"Actually, we did request to see you, Telma," I interjected. She was quiet, and I took her silence as permission to continue speaking. "My name is Sheik. I am the emissary of the Princess Zelda, and my companion is Link of Ordon Village, also a servant of Her Highness. We were told by a member of your group, Rusl of Ordon, that your organization may be willing to lend us assistance." Telma looked at us both very carefully, staring into each of our eyes as if to discern our honesty. We passed her scrutiny.

"An emissary to the Princess, huh? Well then, maybe you can tell us what the hell happened at the castle yesterday, Dear," Telma suggested. I was happy to do so.

"Yesterday at sunset, a man known as Zant, King of the Twilight Realm, attacked the throne room of Hyrule Castle. He had forces superior to Hyrule's and quickly defeated the Princess' forces. He then offered her the option of surrender to him, which would have entailed Zant's ascension to the throne and other classified disasters which I cannot reveal to you. The Princess instead chose to run from Zant, and her current location is unknown to all but herself.

"Her instruction to me, given through secret means, was to locate a specific young man in Ordon Village, which I have done, and utilize him to combat Zant's takeover. She also recommended that I assemble a group of loyal Hyrulians to assist in our rebellion. That is why I am here to speak with you all. The Princess desperately needs the help of us all to reclaim her throne and restore Hyrule's peace.

"It would seem," I continued, "that Castle Town and the remainder of Lanayru Providence have fallen victim to Zant's dark powers. Kakariko and Eldin Providence are the next most logical targets for his curtain of shadow, and therefore we must act promptly. I will need your help to devise a plan of action. Before we begin, however are there any questions on anyone's mind?" The armored girl raised her hand.

"Ashei," she said by way of terse introduction, "So, this power Zant's got is that weird bronzey curtain, yeah? What is it? And it had to come from somewhere, yeah? So where did it come from?"

"The wall of shadow you speak of is only one facet of his powers. All the same, it is called the Twilight and is actually the realm from which Zant originated. It may have negative effects on those from our world, but at the moment we know only that it transforms organisms from the Light into spirits or monsters, and that it weakens the Light and strengthens Zant himself as it spreads," I explained, hoping to have additionally anticipated any further questions. Time was imperative. "Are there any other inquiries?" I glanced around at the unresponsive group assembled with a satisfied emotion.

"Perfect. Now it is time that we begin to form our plans."


	3. III

-:- Castle Town, Lanayru Providence -:-

**_**AN: Sung to the tune of the "Ballad of the Goddess" from Skyward Sword, with each stanza one of the two melodies from the song.**_**

Tales are told of lands

Clothed deep in legend.

Guarded by the gods' lights.

Blessed by the goldens

They knew no pain,

Knew no desire,

Thought of none but themselves.

Powers of Twili rose

Found magic stores untold

Then Her Grace made mistakes...

Her fight to save her world

Hurt those she cared for.

Banished to the shadows

Succumbed to their own power.

Ere she took her path

Her Grace made a promise

A sacred beast would appear...

My Grace, My Grace, hear what I pray. You know me to be loyal, you know that I have the rightful entitlement to the throne. Help me to find the sacred beast, help guide me to the powerful creature you've chosen to help cleanse my world. Help us, Hylia. Save us.

-:- Kakariko Village, Eldin Providence -:-

The sun was midway though its time of rest, the moon cleaned high overhead in the dark velvet sky, and the shaman's stucco shack was in uproar as five people spoke all at once, each trying to outdo the other with the volume of their voice.

"Castle Town is totally gone. There's no way to get it back."

The Twilight can be removed and driven back to whence it came. We should at least attempt."

"Castle Town has weapons stored on the edges of the walls for the militia. If we can get ahold of some weapons and recruit..."

"I refuse to admit civilians. That is considered treason to the Throne to the highest degree. Zant will do things far worse than death to all involved."

"We need an army."

"We need a plan."

"What if," came a sixth voice from the corner so level and quiet that the others heard it clearly and silenced immediately. "What if we send in one of us to take a look at the situation and report back so we at least know what's going on. They wouldn't talk to anyone about joining a revolution, they wouldn't go anywhere near the militia weapons, they'd just gather intel." The room was silent for a moment as everyone thought it over, then erupted again in another storm of words.

"I think we should send Ashei. She can take care of herself, can't you, Hun?"

"Perhaps Auru would be a better delegate."

"Yeah, I'm good with whatever."

"I'm an old man. Sheik should go."

"Send me," the quiet voice came again, commanding attention just like before.

"I think that Link is the best choice as well."

"Are you quite certain of that, Sheik?"

"I think it's a great idea. Listen, all of you might have experience and know your way around Castle Town, but you're just too recognizable, Dears. Lots of people know what we were trying to do, and even more saw you all in my bar. If anyone told this new king anything or if anyone hostile got suspicious, you'd just be gone. Link, on the other hand, is brand new and can ask around a lot without seeming suspicious. He'll just seem lost. Right, Dear?" A low grumble of resentful agreement flickered through the room. "Well then it's settled."

"He will require a weapon," Shad pointed out.

"We don't have any, remember? Besides, having a sword would just make him stick out more, yeah?" Another murmur.

"Then at the next twilight, whenever that may come, we shall allow Link to enter the Twilight and surveil Castle Town."

-:- Kakariko Gorge, Eldin Providence -:-

Dusk. A quintet of quirky people push a sixth young man from their midst and pause to gaze with curiosity and fear at the eerie wall of amber shadow that silently creeps across the fields from Castle Town. The one pushed from the group steels himself with a deep breath and begins to walk forward toward the wall of Teilight. His companions follow, spreading out from their tight pack as they trek across the steadily-darkening field. The all soon come to the edge of the wall and stand several yards away from it to discuss.

"Link, are you ready?" the wide woman asks the leading man. Link nods, though he seems slightly uncertain still.

"We put a map, notesbook, small dagger weapon, healing potion, and ration portion inside of your bag for you," Shad says with a gesture to the pouches strapped to Link's waist.

"He knows what's in it, Shad. He helped pack the thing, yeah?" Ashei cute in, smacking Shad in the back of his head with the heel of her hand.

"Yes. Link knows where he must go, what he must do, and which tools he possesses to do so," Sheik amends. He steps closer to Link and looks him in the eye. A silent communication passes between the two before Sheik steps away. "Trust no one, and have care how you speak and act." Link glances down at the gloves covering his hands and nods wordlessly.

"I'm ready," he says finally, looking up again.

"Good luck, honey. You'll do great," Telma assures him. After a last brief moment of hesitation, Link takes a few steps forward to close the gap between himself and the Twilighg. He warily lifts his hand, places it on the surface of the wall, and promptly begins trembling from head to toe. Ashei and Auru take a step forward to come to Link's aid, but Sheik flings his arm out to bar them passage.

"Leave him be," he orders. Less than a heartbeat after the words leave Sheik's lips, Link suddenly begins to dissolve. Beginning from his head and descending from there, Link's body dissipates into countless fist-size black squares. They hover for a moment in the air before they drift toward and smoothly melt into the wall of Twilight. In little time at all, he was completely vanished from that side of the wall.

Sheik relaxes.

"He is in."

-:- Hyrule Field, Twilight Hyrule -:-

**_**AN: Midna has a potty mouth. All of her language falls within the PG-13/T+ rating, but if foul language is distasteful to you, Midna will offend you.**_**

I gotta say, I was pretty surprised when someone from outside the Twilight suddenly appeared in it. I mean if he'd been dragged in by one of the beasts chasing me or had just been in one of the places the Twilight swallowed up I wouldn't've thought twice about it, but when you're on the fun from creatures who want to rip you limb-from-limb and your escape route is suddenly blocked by a stranger, you're bound to notice just a little bit. Of course, maybe it's just my luck that's bad enough that I crash into a complete stranger and end up in a tangle on the ground while killer monsters get closer.

I yelled when the two of us went down. I guess that maybe I should've seen him slowly forming from the shadow fleks coming in through the wall, but at the time I'd been busy drifting backward and laughing at the slowpoke monsters trying to catch up to me. But them I collided with a warm body—which was weird enough on its own since most things in the Twilight are lukewarm or cold—that was super weak and floppy and promptly collapsed.

"What the hell?!" I shrieked, jumping back into the air from my position tangled up in the other guy's limbs. He didn't reply, maybe because he was a Light Dweller and didn't understand my language, I thought. On a closer look, though, I noticed that he was clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut like he was in pain. I kind of wanted to help the guy, but his sudden intrusion had given the monsters time to catch up. So instead of trying to fix him or whatever, I took off in the opposite direction from the monsters. This time, I didn't look backward while I ran away. At least, I didn't until I heard the dying screams of the beasts.

What in the goddess' name? I thought, screeching to a midair stop. I knew I should keep going, get as far away from the corpses as I could before more showed up to replace them. I should really listen to myself sometimes.

I went back. I'll say it again because it's worth saying again: I've gotta listen to my own advice! When I got to the spot where I'd left the Light guy, I showed up to find the three monsters totally obliterated, and the dude from earlier lying on the ground. Except he looked exactly nothing like he did when I ran into him. He'd turned into a great big DOG—er- wolf. And the worst part was that on the back of his hand or paw or whatever it was at that point was a glowing symbol that was way too damn familiar.

The Triforce. The stupid damned Triforce. On this idiot. You know, when I thought of the hymn and the prophecy of the goddess about a 'Sacred Beast', I'd pictured something massive with wings and razor claws and fire breath and fangs bigger than I was. Or if it had to be a wolf, at least one that glowed gold or something. But this guy was decidedly I impressive. If it weren't for the marking on his paw I would've thought he was just an ordinary, run-of-the-milk, boring grey wolf with a big shaggy mane. Really, Hylia? This was the Sacred Beast You expected me to beat Zant's ass with?

I drifted down to stand on the grass next to the wolf's head.

"Hey, wake up," I ordered him sharply, wincing as my commanding voice came out as a shrill squeak. The wolf didn't respond. He was out cold. So I kicked him in the face. Gently, of course, since I needed him in good condition, but hard enough to hopefully get his attention and wake him up.

Success. The wolf's eyes slowly creaked open, revealing shockingly blue irises. Okay, at least that wasn't normal. Just like nothing really stayed warm in the Twilight, there wasn't much color there either. Any color that did exist was muted and dark, but this wolf's eyes were very human and very blue in his furry grey face. I bet if there were any sunlight, his eyes would've caught it and turned purplish or grey. Much to my surprise, my appearance didn't faze or scare him. Maybe it was just because my weird looks weren't registering with him yet.

"Wake up, Stupid."

I watched as his eyes sort of crossed and became unfocused, then corrected themselves and widened in alarm. There was the reaction is been missing.

"Yeah, yeah, I looks weird and scary. I know. But you can relax. I'm not going to hurt you if you do what I ask." The wolf still seemed wary of me, but he calmed down some. I wondered for a second if he'd realized he wasn't human yet. Probably not, or he wouldn't've been so calm.

Listen, I need your help," I forced myself to say. Ugh. As if I weren't already pathetic enough with the way I looked and my weak magic, now I was asking a decidedly not-epic wolf for help. "The world that I ru- er, live in has started taking over hours. It's been transforming everyone and everything from your world into creatures of shadow. Including you." I scooted backward from the ensuing limb flailing as the wolf tried to rearrange himself in his new body and see his transformation. He freaked out when he saw his furry paws and started writhing all over the place trying to see the rest of himself. It was entertaining for about thirty seconds, and then I got impatient.

"Okay, that's enough spazzing. Stop it. Stop!" He obeyed once I shouted, and while he was still I drifted over to him and settled myself on his back. The warmth felt kind of nice against the cool Twilight air.

"Obedient to a fault, you humans," I giggled. The wolf almost growled at me for the snarky remark, but before he could I grabbed his ear and yanked it back to whisper into it. "Here's the deal. I've got this vendetta against the King of this Twilight, and I'm also pretty sure that you want your world back. So first we've gotta get out of here before more of those monsters show up to kill us, and then here's what we're going to do..."

-:- Kakariko Village, Eldin Providence -:-

It had been three days since we sent Link into the Twilight Realm. Nothing had changed in the Shadow Realm as far as I and the other resistance members could notice, and Link had not yet returned from his reconnaissance mission. I was plagued from time to time with the terror that he had been imprisoned or killed, but I assuaged my fears by reminding myself repeatedly that he was none other than the Hero of legend. Link was fine.

In the meantime, Ashei, Shad, Telma, Auru, and I has occupied ourselves with preparing the village of Kakariko and its inhabitants for evacuation. Auru and Telma collected scrap wood to outfit the barmaid's wooden wagon to carry additional passengers, Shad pored over his volumes and wracked his expansive mind for information about the Twilight, and Ashei And I kept watch while gathering evacuation supplies and scouting routes to a new home. The village shaman, Renado, whom I had finally met shortly after Link's departure, spent his time praying for safety and supervising the work. On the evening of the third day, I approached Renado.

"Renado," I said upon entering the shaman's but. I spoke quietly, but he heard me immediately and broke off his murmured prayer to stand. I stepped closer to him. "I have great concern for the fate of one of my companions," I explained.

"Link," Renado guessed. I nodded. "Fear not, Sheik. I do not know him as well as you do, but I did get to meet him briefly before he left. There is a fire in his eyes that is not common to find these days, and I have no doubt that this fire will keep him safe for as long as he is apart from you all."

I nodded, reluctantly agreeing with him. "He is a special young man." Renado murmured his agreement, then knelt once again to continue his prayer. As I left the hut, I began to believe myself as well. Link would be safe. The Hero could not perish.


	4. IV

-:- Hyrule Fields, Twilight Hyrule -:-

It was weird to gallivant around a half-familiar land on the warm back of a wolf. I felt ridiculously conspicuous, given that most of the monsters hunted by heat and Wolfboy was blazing, but he was strong and fast. I found out soon enough that we could sort of communicate; I used the hand motions and scraps of Hylian I'd picked up from the folks in Castle Town, and if I made a little effort I could almost hear the basic thoughts in his head. I couldn't pick up his name, though.

We were on our way to Castle Town to get weapons for Wolfboy's buddies on the run from the Twilight. He'd gotten used to his body surprisingly fast, mostly because I'd screamed at him to stop thinking about it and run. He still stumbled every once and a while, idiot that he was, but for the most part he had let his instincts take over and carry us toward Castle Town.

When we got to the gate of the city, it was locked. Wolfy pawed at the door with his claws and tried to shove the doors open with his face, but it didn't work too well. I looked around us to try and figure something else out. The wooden gates were totally smooth and definitely immoveable. Below the stone bridge was a deep, dark chasm. Probably bottomless. The wall, on the other hand, had something useful going on. Zant's little fit—the one where he blew up the castle—had sent chunks of stone and concussion blasts everywhere. The walls surrounding the town were crumbling, with craters and holes in some places and big stones sticking out in other places. It all looked stable enough to support the weight of the wolf as long as I showed him where to jump.

"Hey," I said, kicking the wolf's ribs with my heels. He stopped sniffing at the door to look up at me. "Look." I pointed at the wall. "I can show you where to jump and land safely to climb the wall. It'll work."

He replied by snorting through his nose. It came across mentally as more of a 'fine' than a 'yeah, let's go for it!' sort of response. I snickered and jumped off his back to go hover over the first gap in the wall. I held out a hand, teasing him.

"Come on," I called. Wolfy crouched down o jump but stayed down. I rolled my eyes—what an idiot—and dangled my hair in the air nearby my face. It worked on my mom's Nectchat* when it was alive, and apparently it worked on sacred wolves, too. He jumped at me enthusiastically, and when I pulled my hair back in after his landing he looked so desperately confused that I laughed out loud. Wolfy tried to snap at me, but I was already drifting toward the next ledge.

It took forever, but I finally got him to the top of the wall. A thin, flat path stretched out over the top of the wall all the way around town. I landed on top of the wolf and kicked him forward. We jumped off the wall and onto the roof of a weapons storehouse about a quarter of the way around, then down onto the street from there.

I used my hair to tug on the door handle, and to my surprised disgust it opens. Those damn aristocrats had left it totally unlocked. Imbeciles. Wolfy nosed his way in through the opening I'd made. The storage shed was dark, even for the Twilight, so I tapped the wolf's head to get his attention.

"Hey, you have an animal's nose and ears," I reminded him impatiently. "Use 'em." There could be some dangerous stuff in here, and I did **not** want to get blown up before getting my revenge on Zant. I lounged vacantly on the wolf's back while he poked around. It was way too dark for me to see anything, even after my eyes adjusted, so I didn't even try. So it was a petty brutal wake-up call to suddenly hear Wolf's voice loud and clear in my head, practically shouting that there was nothing there. I almost fell off. He seemed to have figured out how to use his senses. "Holy shit, Wolf, simmer down." I slipped off his back and hovered through the room, patting the walls as I went. He was right. The room was 110% empty. Crap.

"Well, I guess that's it for _your_ glory return." I snickered as I returned to his back. I mean, a sword would have been great for me to have, too, but I had other ideas for what I could use to fight Zant. Ancient and ridiculously powerful magic. Wolf Boy and his friends, on the other hand, were totally screwed without weapons.

I almost felt sorry for them.

Almost. Not really, though.

"You were gonna bust out of the Twilight with swords up your ass and be the hero, but now—" he cut me off with a hushed bark. He interrupted me! Jerk! I was about to scream at him like the hell creature I was when he suddenly stiffened. I could have felt his tension from halfway across the room. What the hell? I wondered. Then I heard it. The huffy, shuffling sounds of Twilight monsters. Oh, shit.

"Crap," I cursed in a whisper. "Listen," I said to Wolf, whispering right into his big ears, "I've fought these things before. They're scary as hell, but not too tough. But you've got to kill them all at once, because they have this scream thing that brings each other back to life. Got it?" I didn't wait for a response.

"Good, go!" I put my hands on his butt and literally shoved him out the door. I closed the doors behind him and put my face to the crack to watch.

I didn't feel guilty. Not really. He could handle himself. There were only three of the creatures patrolling outside, and they all took a minute to notice that Wolf had shown up. Dumbasses. When they finally did notice, they slowly turned toward him before charging all at once. Wolf growled and jumped at the closest one. He latched onto its chest with his claws and bit at its throat until it threw him off. He landed on all four paws and jumped at the monster again. This time it collapsed to the ground. Ha! Take that, bastard! Wolf ran over to the other two. He jumped to attack one of them the same way he'd gone after the first monster, but instead of attacking it a second time he jumped to the other one. What was he doing?! I almost screamed at him. He was supposed to kill them, not play with them. Attack! Blood! Maim! I yelled inside my head.

Then he started running away. Okay, so he didn't actually run so much as he slowly backed away from the pair of black creatures. It was the same principle, though. Either way, he'd stopped attacking. I had no idea what he was going to do until he actually did it, but then he attacked them again. He just launched himself between them like a spinning death machine. Wolf spun around once, twice, three times, and then both the monsters fell. One tried to scream on its way down. It was so loud and painful, making all my muscles seize up, my bones ache all the way through, and my mind momentarily shut down. I was totally overwhelmed and incapable of moving an inch for a moment, and then the monster hit the ground and shut up.

I breathed a sigh of relieve and went back to sitting on Wolf's back again. He was panting pretty heavily, so I should have seen it coming; when I sat down, his fur was wet with sweat. Not damp. **Wet**. Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew!

"Ugh!" I jumped off of him the same second I sat down. "Oh, goddesses, you're sweaty as hell." I expected him to snort or make a dismissive chuffing sound, like normal, but he was totally silent. Wolfy was pretty much done with my constant sass at that point, sure, but there was no way he wouldn't've reacted to my freak-out. I didn't know him very well, but I knew him well enough to know that something was wrong.

"Hey, dummy. What's your problem?" I dangled my hand in front of his face and snapped my fingers. He still didn't do anything. I was about to start kicking him and pulling on his ears or something when he started kind of swaying. I hesitated for a second to see what the hell was wrong with him. His eyes had kind of glazed over and his face looked like he was in pain or something.

Then his left forepaw gave out from underneath him, and my brand-new, bright and shiny Sacred Savior Beast collapsed. And he hadn't come with a warranty.

-:- Faron Woods, Faron Providence -:-

"Three days. Three pieces of the Triforce. He'll be okay. The Hero is okay." Thus was my mantra as I trudged through the hours and the processes of life.

I had no affection or loyalty toward Link, but I needed him. The very last thing I wanted to do was return to Hyrule Castle and give myself over to Zant's mercy, and yet the only one who possessed the capability to render that action unnecessary was the Hero himself, Link. However, Link was decidedly absent.

None of the Resistance members seemed to feel any inclination toward retrieving Link, nor taking further action toward expelling Zant. Telma explained to me that their relaxed approach was as a result of their past accomplishments as a unified group; the majority of the action any member took in the name of the Resistance typically resulted from mere coincidental encounters with trouble. If a disturbance happened to arise while any one of them was around, they would lend their skill and knowledge, but none ever actively sought conflict to face. Even the group founded to combat the soldier's lethargy found themselves plagued by a lack of motivation. My frustration and my anxiety increased every day.

There was little to be done aside from hunting and gathering sustenance for our small camp in Faron Woods. I busied myself with these tasks, burying my thoughts and concerns in the menial physical actions. I still grew more restless, more distracted, and more afraid with every moment. The actions of my hands were not enough to save me from the troubles of my mind.

I feared I might soon explode.

-:- Castle Town, Twilight Hyrule -:-

"Oh crap. Oh crap, oh shit, oh crapshitdamnhell."

It would be the understatement of the millennia to say that I was panicking. I was having a full blown, mind-erasing _panic attack_. This was not happening.

I didn't have a freaking clue what had happened, either. One second my wolf was kicking Twilight Monster butt and being the badass I'd expected him to be, and then he just flopped onto the ground totally unconscious. So now I was on my knees by his face, slapping his furry cheeks and cursing like a vagabond. He was not allowed to die. Or even rest, for that matter.

"Get **up**!" I yelled, starting to get mad now, too. He didn't even twitch. I grabbed his forepaw, trying to find a pressure point or something to snap him out of it, but I dropped it right away when my thumb started stinging like a bitch. It felt like it was burning. "Ow," I hissed. I jammed the stupid thing into my mouth and carefully picked up the paw again to figure out what had hurt me. Weirdly enough, the pain felt like the throb of Twilight magic underneath the sting of Light on it. I tilted the paw to see the back of it and saw the faint outline of the Triforce. It was pulsing slightly, which was freaky on its own, but it also looked like it was… absorbing the Twilight.

That explained it. Most of the Light Dwellers I'd seen in Hyrule had been totally penetrated by the Twilight, deducing their forms to pale ghosts of themselves. All that was left of them was the little flame of their Life Force, and even that flickered away slowly in streams of bluish green light. It was slowly killing them; thanks to Zant's dark intentions the Twilight here was malevolent. Even I could feel the sickness in the heavy air, and I was supposed to be immune to it.

The Triforce had protected Wolf from turning into a ghost, giving him a physical form that could do some serious damage. The Twilight kept trying to get into him, and the piece of the Triforce fought back. Its little mini-war was using up Wolfboy's own energy. He was exhausted, and if he stayed in the Twilight much longer, the Triforce would start using his Life Force to keep the shadows out. He would die. I had to get him out of there.

Unfortunately, Castle Town was the origin of the Twilight in Hyrule. It was smack-dab in the middle of everything. I needed a portal, but I didn't have enough magic left to make one on my own. Unless…

Using the small amount of magic I had left in me, I shattered the dead shadow beasts into individual Twilight fleks. Everything in our world was made up of these little pieces of energy, and everything—including me—could be broken back down into them. That was the essence of Twili magic; being able to use the energy around you and reshape it into something more useful. Energy could be concentrated and packed into certain items. Some people were born with the ability to manipulate the fleks, some had to be taught, and other people weren't ever able to at all. I got lucky. I had lots of natural skill.

I caught the magic and the material they released and repurposed their energy, forming a portal hovering above us. Then I used all the extra to split me and Wolfy and throw us through the gateway.

We reformed at the very edge of the Twilight, literally two feet away from the wall. Damn, I was good. Now I just had to get him to the other side. I used my hair to grab him and just kind of crammed him against the wall. Maybe I could just shove him through. To my great surprise, my careless half-effort actually worked. The wolf slowly started to sink through the wall like it was soft earth.

I had no intention of going with him. The light burned my skin, and I was pretty sure Wolfy would come back into the Twilight soon enough on his own. I could just find him again, just like I'd found him the first time. Apparently, though, my intentions had exactly zero influence on the way the world worked. As the wolf sank through the border between Shadow and Light, my hair got stuck. A little corner of one of the makeshift fingers stayed on a part of the wolf that had sunk in, and then all of a sudden I was totally trapped. I tried to tug it away. No luck. I struggled against it in a bunch of different ways, yanking, writhing, screaming, even squeezing Wolf until I was finally pulled through the wall with a scream of frustration and—fine, I'll admit it—a little bit of fear.

Hopefully I wouldn't die.

* * *

**_*AN: A Netchat is essentially the Twilight equivalent of a Remlin, or a cat._**


End file.
